Vegetable or fruit gripper



Aprili 4, 11950 c. G. NOHRDEN 2,5@2,739

VEGETABLE OR FRUIT GRIPPER Filed March 11, 1947 INVENTOR.

CHESTER C3 NOHRDEN ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 4, 1950 VEGETABLE R.=. U.I--E Chester G. Nohrden,.Watsonville, Calif:

Ann ieat onMamh 11, ,7,- SQKMLN -x'fififlfliit 2 Claims.

'Ihepresent invention relates, to improvements in a vegetable or fruit gripper. It -consistent the of this-invention is to proyide a, gripper which is,

adapted to held vegetable and fruits during; the grating operation, the gripperbeins arrangedto protect a persons hand against injury while the grating iscarried out.

More specifically described, I propose to provide a gripper having a pair of coacting jaws that are arranged to grip vegetables or fruits therebetween. Guards are disposed on the jaws in such a manner that they will be interposed between the grater and the thumb and finger of the person using the gripper. Thus, the grating of various vegetables and fruits, such as carrots, onions, apples, etc., may be carried on with facility and ease, without endangering the persons hand.

Other objects and advantages will appear as the specification continues, and the novel features of the invention will be set forth in the claims hereunto annexed.

For a better understanding of my invention, reference should be had to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this application, in which:

3 Figure l is a perspective view of a gripper constructed in accordance with my invention and shows it held in a persons hand, the latter being disclosed in dot-dash lines;

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken along the line II--II of Figure 1, a grater being shown therebeneath in broken lines;

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the grater with the jaws thereof fully opened; and

Figure 4 is another perspective view looking more from the side of the gripper than the view shown in Figure 1.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, it should be understood that various changes, or modifications, may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit thereof.

In carrying my invention into practice, I provide a pair of coacting jaws A and B, which are hinged together as at I, by a suitable rod. The jaws are adapted to engage with various articles of food to be grated, such as vegetables, fruits, or the like, designated generally at C. When he e; a cl s. are firmlrheld theg gripper, they: may be inovedover. aeonventional'; grater. D. for. shredding g atin m- The jaws A1 and- B ihcllldeplates 2. and. 3, respectively, which are alltanged'in general parallel, rela i n With-.oneanother'. These plates..resne ci ly. have. teeth. a.. and" 3a; fashioned on. the. qnfron i s dges'th reof. It. willibe. notedv from. Figure 3 that the-teeth 2a.. are arranged; on. a; c rve. wh le. the. teeth. 3a are. disposedin a traiehtline- The curvature, orthe. row of teeth 2a prevents the gripped'article from moving toward the outer teeth in the row. Suitable ribs 2b and 3b are provided for reinforcing the outermost margins of the plates A and B, respectively.

The plate 2 has a frame 4 fixed to and rising therefrom that is curved horizontally to provide a surface 4a against which a person's thumb T may be positioned (see Figures 1 and 2). Likewise, the plate 3 has a frame 5 secured thereto and rising therefrom. The latter frame has a flat surface 5a against which the persons fingers F may rest. A bar 6 is anchored to the surface 5a, and the finger tips of the persons hand may be positioned under this bar to prevent the fingers from slipping off of that surface during use of the gripper.

The upper ends of the frames 4 and 5 are rolled over, as at 1 and 8, respectively, so as to have a sliding fit with one another (see Figure 2). These frames are provided with perforated ears 9 and [0, respectively, through which the pivot rod of the hinge I extends. A leaf spring II is disposed within the confines of the frames 4 and 5 so as to urge them apart.

Having thus described the various parts of my gripper, the operation thereof may be briefly summarized as follows:

The person using the gripper can grasp it in one hand, as sug ested in Figure 1, with the thumb T positioned along the curved surface 4a and the tips of the fingers F bearing against the flat surface 5a beneath the bar 6. A simple movement of the thumb and fingers toward one another will move the teeth 2a and 3a into gripping. relation with the vegetable, fruit or the like C. The plates 2 and 3 serve as guards and are interposed between the persons hand and the grater D. As the gripped article is moved back and forth over the grater, it will be shredded or grated by the usual teeth l2 on the grater. As soon as the person relaxes pressure on the surfaces 4a and 5a, the spring II will urge the jaws apart.

It will be observed from Figures 2 and 4 that the frames 4 and 5 define an arch with the pivot rod of the hinge I disposed at the top of the arch. The arch provides a space E into which the article to be grated may project. This arrangement permits the teeth 2a and 3a to grasp the article C at points where it will be held firmly by the teeth.

I claim:

1. In an article gripper; a pair of spaced-apart plates having teeth on their confronting edges for gripping an' article disposed between the plates; a fram secured to and rising from one of the plates, and having a substantially vertical surface curved horizontally to receive a portion of a persons hand grasping the gripper; the other plate also having a frame secured thereto and rising therefrom, and including a substantially flat surface against which another portion of the persons same hand may bear; the upper por tions of the frames being swingably connected to each other so that the toothed plates may be pressed toward one another to gripthe article therebetween; said substantially flat surface of one frame having a bar-like projection extending substantially horizontally thereacross under which part of the persons hand may be positioned; the plates projecting outwardly with respect to the frames to define underlying guards for protecting the persons hand when the gripper is moved over a grater.

2. In an article gripper; a pair of spaced-apart plates arranged in general parallel relation with one another; the confronting edges or the plates having teeth thereon for gripping an article disposed between the plates; the teeth on one plate being disposed in substantially a straight row, and the teeth on the other plate being arranged on a curve; and means for supporting the plates for movement toward and away from one another, and including frames secured to and rising from the plates; the frame having the plate thereon which defines the curved row of teeth having a substantially vertical surface curved horizontally on substantially the same curvature as the curved row of teeth.

CHESTER G. NOHRDEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 117,381 Nelson Oct. 31, 1939 660,762 Thompson Oct. 30, 1900 1,954,032 I Wood Apr. 10, 1934 2,195,832 Wagenhauser Apr. 2, 1940 2,207,286 Cohen July 9, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 237,396 Great Britain July 30, 1925 693,077 Germany July 1, 1940 

